Vacuum cleaners of various designs are used in residential and commercial applications for cleaning. These vacuum cleaners create a suction airflow that picks up dirt and dust particulates from a surface in need of cleaning. The vacuum cleaner separates these particulates from an ingested air for later disposal.
One type of vacuum cleaner design is a water filtration vacuum cleaner, which includes a canister style vacuum cleaner with a water bath. Such vacuum cleaners use water as a filter. These vacuum cleaners typically include a main housing with a removably attached water bath pan. In operation, these vacuum cleaners force the intake air and ingested particulates to pass through a water bath, which absorbs most of the particulates before the air is exhausted to the environment. While the water filters out debris that is water soluble; this debris may harbor unseen bacteria that may be harmful if exhausted in airborne particulates. Once the water has absorbed the particulates, the operator is required to dump the water basin and rinse the machine. However, it is difficult for the operator to see the cleanliness of the water to determine when the water should be discarded, which can cause the further breeding of bacteria.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be an effective viricide and bactericide and is somewhat effective in treating microorganisms such as cryptosporidium. Therefore, a need exists for a device that provides clear examination to determine when to dispose of a soiled water bath while enhancing a potential for killing bacterium. Particularly, a need exists for a light source providing illumination of the vacuum cleaner canister as well as potentially killing any bacterium existing in a particulate canister.